03/30/2022 13:09 (act 03/30/2022 19:07)
Conflicts increase the number of unwanted pregnancies ©APA/dpa
According to a new UN report, about half of all pregnancies worldwide are unwanted.
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), more than 60% of these 121 million unwanted pregnancies are aborted – half of them in unsafe conditions. The main causes of unwanted pregnancies are therefore discrimination against women, poverty, sexual violence and lack of access to contraceptives and abortion.
Crises and wars aggravate the situation
The UNFPA report is based on new Guttmacher Institute data from 150 countries between 2015 and 2019. The report’s authors warned that conflicts such as the war in Ukraine are driving the number of unintended pregnancies to “staggering” levels as violence escalates. sexual intercourse increases and access to contraceptives is restricted. “Sexual and reproductive rights are fundamental human rights that governments and laws must protect, respect and make accessible,” said Petra Bayr, member of the Austrian Parliamentary Group for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (#paarlandsex) and spokesperson. of SPÖ for global development, at a press conference on the subject on Wednesday in Vienna
Introducing the report in Paris, UNFPA Director Natalia Kanem reported on cases of pregnant women in Ukraine “who knew they would not be nutritionally capable of sustaining pregnancy”. There are also examples of criminals “who see the tragedy of war as an opportunity to target women and girls”.
Every fifth woman experiences sexual violence
According to studies, more than 20% of displaced women worldwide experience sexual violence. Kanem cautioned that the numbers are likely understated because of the social “stigma” associated with violence. According to UNFPA, the corona crisis also led to 1.4 million unwanted pregnancies in the first year of the pandemic alone. Every year, seven million women are hospitalized after unsafe abortions. These are one of the main causes of maternal deaths.
“Every woman throughout the world has the right to self-determination over her own body, regardless of age or origin. This requires gender equality in all respects, comprehensive protection from violence of all kinds, and the necessary health and safety care.” , says Eva-Maria Holzleitner , member of #paarlandsex and SPÖ spokesperson for women, children and youth.
For Austria, speakers in Vienna called for free national access to contraceptives. In addition, sex education for children and young people should be promoted.